WillDo Jet Thrusters

[Willallison]

Does anyone have any experience with the WillDo Jet thrusters?

[baeckmo]

Due to the principle of design (high speed, low flow jet), the force/power ratio is considerably lower than with an axial prop in a tunnel.

[Willallison]

Yes - thanks Baekmo, a quick look at their specs indicates that they are somewhat less efficient than a traditional thruster (6kW for a 40kgf vs 2.2kW for a 42 kgf Lewmar, for instance!).
However, there is limited draft and space in the application I am considering and a couple of their units may be one of the few thruster options that can fit.

[Willallison]

Am I correct in assuming that Willdo are one of the casualties of the GFC? Their website's been down for a couple of months now....

[singleprop]

Yes, Willdo is closed down..Equipment and spare parts sold on auction but the owner keeps the email address open for one year to support the customers..

[Willallison]

Thanks singleprop. Do you have the email address?
Their Oz distributor tells me that another company has taken them over - you don't know by chance?

[singleprop]

rietweld@willdo.com

Don't know the new company. I am sure that the distrubutor knows the new company.

[Willallison]

Thanks.

[FedericoSolnau]

Yes, willdo is cosed down. But there is a new company producing the Jet Thruster now. They currently have 3 models in production:
JT30, JT50 and TJ90 (30Kgf, 50Kgf, 90Kgf).

You will find all the information about the new company on the following WEB:

http://www.solnautic.com/

I hope this helps every body interested in this great product!!!



Greetings,

Federico Ramirez.

[Mat-C]

Thankyou Frederico!
Do you have any connection with the company?

[FedericoSolnau]

Hi Mat-C,

Yes, I am the person in charge of the product in Spain. If I can be of any help to you, don’t doubt to ask. I’ll do my best… (English is not my language).

Greetings,

Federico Ramirez

[Willallison]

Indeed - thank you Frederico - whilst not the most efficient in terms of power consumption, the jet thruster is one of the few options available for vessels of limited draft.
I have such an application and have sent the company an email requesting pricing.
Can you tell me whether Solnautic has simply taken over the manufacture of some of the previous WillDo units, and if they plan to introduce any of the other models - such as the mini-thrusters?

[FedericoSolnau]

In fact, the company that has taken over the manufacture of the product is not Solnautic. The new manufacturer is Holland Marine Parts. Solnautic Sailing SL is the distributor for Spain.
Holland Marine Parts has taken over the product adding some modifications to improve it. The new 3 way valve is more efficient and the new product has no electronic box which makes it simpler and of course more resistant.

Yes, the Jet Thruster has many advantages over the traditional system, and power consumption efficiency is not one of them. But this is just a matter of using a slightly bigger battery.
And it is absolutely true that in many boats it is the best option and the only valid one on many cases.

As far as I know, they are working on a minithruster too, but to know more about it the best is to contact Holland Marine parts.

You will find their contact details on my web:

http://www.solnautic.com/

Cheers,

Federico Ramirez.

[Willallison]

Thank you once again Frederico

[MechaNik]

I had the pleasure of driving an 11m super yacht tender that had such a system in, although I don't know the brand. It had great performance and was a retro fit too. I can't comment on efficiency because from what I saw the pumps where run by PTO off of twin 660hp Yanmars, not electric. Sure is a great alternative if you don't have the room for a thruster or you're doing a retro fit.
Any idea who is doing a PTO version?